Flower Blooming
by Snarfburgalar
Summary: Kagome is bound to the Lord of the Western Lands because she was promised to his family long ago. She will bear his child because it is required of her. All she holds for him is hatred for robbing her of her freedom...There is no love...
1. Chapter 1

Well what do ya know... I survived to become the author of TWO fics. Never thought that would happen. Alrighty then, down to business. This would be a very dark piece. Somebody we all know and love will probably die at some point, so be warned. You might enjoy the ride, but the end is sure to be messy. This is also a vague crossover with Dune. The plot, and some of the elements of the story are borrowed from that book and all of its sequels. For example, Kagome's worth is determined mainly by the fact that she is the result of a long process of breeding program organized by a society that is basically identical to the Bene Gesserit, I just changed the name. Also make a note that this is a very tightly knit story, and is filled with strategic bits of such and such. Sorry about the depressing stuff, I'm in a bad mood. You should also be very confused in this first chapter, which is just the way I like it. Dark and Mysterious. Here we go, hope you like it for the most part. Kagome will seem out of character too, but you'll grow to see the girl we all know and love coming out in her as the story progresses. She was in fact, a lot more like the original Kagome before she was forced into a mating deal. The thing is that she will rediscover herself chapter by chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.... It's Rumiko Takahashi's. Or the Dune Series, that's Frank Herbert's.  
  
Flower Blooming...  
  
Chapter 1-Lost and Found  
  
Kagome shivered on the balcony, the small blanket wrapped around her yielded very little comfort to her delicate form. Gradually, the sun began to slip behind the horizon in a fountain of color; sending bloody streaks of red across the sky.  
  
Despite repeated warnings, she insisted on sitting out here night after night. There was something consoling about the sunset, something mysterious and beautiful that spoke to the heart of every living creature. She had lost all hope roughly three months ago, but she admired the sturdy resilience of the sun. It had become her...companion, during her stay here.  
  
She smiled an empty smile and snuggled deeper into the plush warmth of the wrap. Kagome knew that the servants would come looking out here for her soon, but she did not care. She didn't care about, anything.  
  
Her life had been crushed, all that she had ever lived for was destroyed in her line of vision, for all intents and purposes. She was a shell of a person now, built on negativity and hatred, her soul buried deep inside of her. Kagome thought of herself as the sun, in the fact that she existed for a single purpose; and unlike it in the fact that she could not be content with that. She had abandoned herself. After all, what more did she have to live for?.  
  
Long ago, Kagome had decided that she would accept this fate, but never would she fulfill her position. This was it, and if anyone disapproved, well, they could kill her, violate her, anything. She had been through the torture, nothing of the sort intimidated her anymore. If her life ended now, it would spare her the wait.  
  
Time passed slowly, minutes, hours, dragging by; the evening had come, and the stars sparkled in the heavens cheerfully. She stared up at them, trying to remember what that kind of freedom had been like, if she had ever had it with the Therum. It was what seemed like a long time ago, but really, it had only been a brief period of four or five months. That had been enough to extinguish her spirit, however.  
  
Absently, in total dismissal, Kagome analyzed her new life for a moment.   
  
She was a concubine now. Not necessarily at the head of the government, but close. They had both known when she had officially been sold off what a risk it would have been to make Lady of the House, how much conflict that would bring. No, he had to keep his options in that department open, there were still opportunities to be had in that field.   
  
She had been given special privileges though. She was part of his advisory council, helping to determine what attention should be given to humans, and because of her particular abilities, war subjects, and such like that.   
  
And yet, because of her human blood, Kagome was still highly disapproved of in the court as a whole. The only reason she could truly determine why she had not yet been assassinated was because she carried his child, and she would most likely be able to anticipate such a dramatic event as her own death.   
  
Kagome was also treated with very much care and hesitancy. She was as safe as a kitten in this place; surrounded by those who would readily fling themselves before her and take the knife, although they existed beside spiteful betrayers. It was all because she carried his child though, and because she was a Therum Witch. That was it.   
  
There was no love or commitment here, she was just a vessel. The House Hirohitoh had wanted her blood in their line, and that was it. If anything, she was simply the Lord's mate, a breeding partner. It was the infant that would make the most difference. He cared for her, in a sense, but never with the love of a spouse.  
  
When he finally took a wife, it would be for the benefit of his lands. Perhaps to unite Hirohitoh with another House.   
  
He would most certainly treat this unlucky woman the way he treated her now. No love, she was just a vessel. He wouldn't have her bear children either, that was for sure. Such a decision could easily create another opposing house, what a mess that would be. He wouldn't be able to give her children himself anyway.  
  
Perhaps Kagome might find a reflection of herself in this woman, maybe they might find companionship in their grief. It was a possibility. This future wife of his would be spared her pity, that was all she knew for now. They only problem with a possible friendship was that this woman would be a demon, Kagome, a human. Being a human had brought her very much trouble in the Western Lands thus far, it probably wouldn't make a difference with this woman either.  
  
She heard servants calling for her from inside the castle. She rose gracefully, and turned to step through the doors.  
  
Kagome sat with the servants, waiting patiently as they brushed the snags and snarls from her hair gently, while a few of her attendants were behind her, fitting the sash of her kimono loosely.   
  
They were preparing her for her evening with the lord. He was returning today from his typical jaunt about the countryside, tying up military matters before returning to visit his mate and child, among other things.  
  
Kagome had to be presentable, it mattered significantly in his presence. After all, he considered her to be a pawn of utmost importance in this war; a product of nearly endless, finicky breeding. Who knew how long it would take for the Therum to produce another such as herself. It had taken centuries to create her, to do it again might cost the House Hirohitoh a millennia.  
  
At any rate, the curse that had been laid upon her lord had taken its toll; the single opportunity to produce life that he could spare had been used to create the child she now carried. There would be no second chance if this youth should die, or if she should die. Unless somehow, she survived, he would then have to turn to his young sibling for the heir. It was because of this that the prince wasn't allowed to mate until the child had successfully been born and raised to maturity. There was no rush, however, after all, demons were immortal if they kept their guard up.  
  
It had certainly come to this. Almost amusingly, it resembled something of a comet, or an eclipse. These things, they brought forth so much radiance and awe and yet, it took so long to glimpse them. If you were not there to witness the event, then there were no other options but to accept it and try again.   
  
The lord was the ideal candidate to impregnate her from the start. He was also the current lord, and she had been promised to the Lord of the Western Lands, whoever it was.  
  
Had the prince been on the throne, it would have been his decision wether he would allow his brother to mate with her, or if he would rather be spared the honor. The current lord had been indicated by the Therum as the specific person with which her unification would create the perfect child to be seated on the throne of the house, it had just been a happy coincidence that he had been lord at the time.  
  
Kagome shuddered. It had been a horrific experience to realize that sad day that her blood was to be sold off to the man she had seen visit her for inspections frequently since she was a child. Kagome had known the lord, and seen him as he was now long before they had actually been joined. He was always there, at her manor, asking her guardians of her health in what seemed like shrewd business rather than heartfelt concern.   
  
Eventually, she had been taught his name, and when she was fifteen, informed that in four short years she would become his concubine, and bear his children. It is very traumatic to meet your future breeding partner when you are only three years old.  
  
There was no use trying to change it now, however. Kagome was stuck like this, wether she liked it or not. Suicide might have been an option, but preparing for such rebellion, the Therum had schooled her brutally into the fact that she mustn't, drilling it into her consciousness until she finally found herself no longer able to even hold a knife at her wrist.   
  
They were cunning, her society. So cunning and dangerous that it would almost certainly destroy them one day. But something told her that they had anticipated this, which was why they would so often seclude themselves, eliminating all ties with the rivaling houses to huddle away in safety. In doing so, they could easily create the image of a humble organization of witches and priestesses, out to achieve inner enlightenment for however long it took to ensure security; only to sneak back into the open to form suspicious bargains with the all sides once again, pledging allegiance to no one, simply out to fulfill their own purposes.   
  
Kagome prayed nearly every night that somehow, they might be destroyed. Yet in her own mind she knew that they were simply to devious for that. They were prepared for any upset.  
  
One had to admire them, however. They were a dedicated bunch of humans, and had produced many intelligent forms of combat, and mind control. They were also all women, surprisingly enough. Kagome found this highly clever. It was dangerous to tempt a war between genders in such a way, but they had had enough sense to avoid the dominating nature of men when they had formed in the beginning. It was a very intelligent gesture.  
  
At any rate, the fact that they had the confidence to toy with the powerful houses said enough. Particularly, the House Hirohitoh. Few of the other houses were aware of the deal that had been struck between Hirohitoh and the Therum nearly 500 years ago. But for those who knew, it was still profoundly confusing that they had even considered the offer that had been made.  
  
It was a widely know fact that Hirohitoh typically refused exploiting humans in any fashion due to their utter weakness in comparison to demons. No one imagined that they would accept a single one of the species at such a high price, and from a human society no less! But the Therum were exceptional.   
  
A mating with any one of them could produce a child with significantly powerful abilities. Children of the Therum were strong, with unique healing characteristics that allowed them to suffer the injuries of no other species. The were graced with heightened speed, senses, and an amazing sense of control. It was incredible what they could achieve, every quality that a demon possessed and more. Even as much as the gift of reading the future, in some cases, and this is what had tempted the Hirohitoh so.  
  
The ability to predict the future was never born to any demon child, and they craved it. Most humans were also denied that, and yet the Therum had nearly perfected the art. Of course, they could only capture it in brief glimpses, but that was enough to ignite the greed of all of the houses, and the Therum aimed high. Hirohitoh often stood as the most powerful house. An alliance with them could grant them all that they had desired financially, and most everything else that they wished.  
  
The Therum had realized that with generations of patient breeding, they could perfect a daughter with a perfect sense of the future. When bred with a demon, she could then produce a single child that would have the awesome strength to challenge the entire world. A daughter, of course, so that the great House Hirohito could breed their chosen one with the Lord at the time, therefore ensuring that they could be the holders of such a prized infant.  
  
This was the offer that had been made with the great house that ruled over the territory known as the Western Lands, and they had taken it, even as they were conscious of the extreme risks.  
  
For a curse had been laid upon this house. The theory was the it had spawned the great ongoing war of the countless royal houses.   
  
It was said that long ago, so far back in history that no one could truly prove its credibility, or its falsehood, that two mighty empires had ruled over the Earth. The House Hirohitoh, and the House Oni. The empires had ruled peacefully side by side, until for whatever reason, the House Oni's Lord Naraku had cursed the Lord of House Hirohitoh, therefore causing the very beginnings of the war.   
  
The other great Houses had formed through time, and joined the fight, wether they fought for themselves, or in alliance. The fighting had escalated over time to be bloody battles over dominion of the planet and all of its riches rather than for revenge or pride. This was only a rumor, however.   
  
It did explain why the hate was most violent between House Hirohitoh and House Oni in particular, and why it seemed that one of the two was always the most powerful force at any given time, and rarely any other house.  
  
What was the curse? It was very simple. The men of House Hirohitoh could only breed once and only once. Never again could they produce children; they were given a single chance.  
  
Because of this, Hirohitoh had expected great trouble should anything go wrong with a mating of the selected member of the Therum, and the great Lord of the time. It was a very delicate operation.  
  
Nevertheless, the deal between the Therum and House Hirohitoh had been finalized; the Therum asking only for whatever financial support and protection they felt they needed from Hirohitoh. They also bargained with the fact that Hirohitoh didn't have to call it an alliance, nor would the Therum force it to be. They knew that openly creating an alliance could endanger Hirohitoh, and would cause them to be cautious of the agreement, perhaps even declining. Yes, the Therum were very cunning indeed.  
  
Kagome, poor soul, she had been the chosen one of the Therum's selective breeding program; gifted with the title, Karatherium. Inside of her, she carried the fate of the world, the child that had been called, even before its birth, the Rengola.   
  
Unlike most Therum-related births, the Rengola could not have its gender pre-chosen by its birth mother, that was left entirely up to fate. It was the only thing Kagome enjoyed guessing at anymore. Having a keen sense of the future, she found it delightful that she could not see this of all things. It was the only sense of freedom she held dear anymore.  
  
'Ignorance must be bliss.' She thought. Too bad she had missed out on that.  
  
  
  
He sat before her, dignified, straight. Her chain in life. The man to which she had been promised five centuries ago. He was just as observant and hawk-like as her sisters. But she had established a connection with them, and the guardians she had had as a small child. For this man, she could only hold intense hatred. He had stolen all that had defined her, he had taken her freedom.  
  
"Good evening, my Lord Sesshomaru."  
  
I realize that all of you might have a lot of questions, but they should be answered in time. I wanted to end this chapter on a mysterious, complex note. I also realize that many of you may give up on this silly little fic if I don't say this now. Yes, this will become a Sesshomaru/Kagome fic. Don't worry about Kagome either, she'll become like the Kagome we all know soon enough. I wrote this for myself, not to please anybody, so I don't mind if you hate it or find it too confusing. It is simply in dedication to Frank Herbert, because he, along with J.R.R. Tolkien, is my literary idol, and his works have always stayed with me. 


	2. Chapter 2

I'm glad you're all liking it so far! It also thrilled me to hear that it reminded people of Dune. I had considered making it a total Dune/Inuyasha crossover, having the group act out characters from the book, but I had no idea where I would be able to fit the desert in. Besides which, I wanted to incorporate Japanese culture, so I couldn't very well have them parading around in stillsuits. Here we are, chapter two, hope you still enjoy it. A big week of family stuff is coming up, so if you don't see another chapter from me, don't worry, I'll be back when I have the time. I also expect to be updating on Mondays now, so that should make things easier.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, that's Rumiko Takahashi's. I don't own Dune, or any or its sequels. Those are Frank Herbert's. I don't own either of them. Nope. Not yet. No.  
  
Flower Blooming...  
  
Chapter 2-The Sword Sesshomaru  
  
Kagome sat in the conference room with her hands folded neatly on top of one another. Training had taught her how to handle herself under these circumstances, she must play the part on an ignorant concubine to further her ideals. If she wanted her way with this, she had to look stupid. Anything above that would certainly intimidate their guests. A sharp woman was always a wild card.   
  
Kagome would also be risking revealing her true nature as a sister of the Therum. It was still in House Hirohitoh's best interests to keep her origin in the dark, and she realized full well that one of the men seated before her was a son of her sisters. She had been required to memorize the location of all traces of Therum blood, so that she could prepare herself for secrecy when she was young. His name was Miroku, son of Sakura.   
  
He was just another frustration of her society. The Therum almost always chose to bear daughters, having sons could spread their teachings into male territory, and that was not tolerated. Therefore, they had kept tabs on men such as Miroku over the years, and remained in tense contact with Sakura.   
  
No doubt, his mother had taught him everything that she knew about the Therum, and he would be quick to recognize her if she dared use any of her skills to enforce the deal that was being made. So Kagome remained quiet, making innocent comments now and then, but for the most part keeping to herself.   
  
The previous evening had been cold, and venomous. Sesshomaru had come to see her as planned, and he observed her like a snake once again; informing her of the meeting that would take place discussing the union of House Hirohitoh with House Sajimo, and political matters such as that.   
  
Of course, as he had left, he had held her close for a moment, pulling her to him and pressing his face into her hair. One might have taken this for an affectionate gesture, yet in truth, it was simply a test; he did it every time he visited her, he was checking her scent, and the child's, he was trying to determine its gender.  
  
Kagome fought a scowl. Had she been given the opportunity, she would have spited him without hesitation. She never forgot that any life she had ever lead was now either gone, or under his governing hand. Anything she could do to frustrate him was welcome. She knew that he hoped for a son, because males were so often more powerful, and Kagome therefore hoped for a girl. If indeed female, she would even ship her off to the Therum, and have them breed her to be a rivaling force against her father.   
  
That was, of course, the plan. But she would not do this to please the Therum, her loyalties were no one's. Kagome only wished that both sides would destroy each other somehow.  
  
Her attentions were suddenly called back to the situation at hand. It was a dull meeting, and yet Kagome was still asked to keep up appearances because of her future reading abilities. This was the conference that Sesshomaru had warned her of the night before, and at this very moment they were picking a path for both Sajimo, and Hirohitoh. Sajimo was a prominent house, next in power after Oni, and very useful in the fact that they were quite wealthy.   
  
"Do you agree that marriage under these circumstances would be held under the Hirohitoh name?" It was Myouga speaking, an elderly advisor of Lord Sesshomaru.  
  
"Yes. We ask only that you accept the people of House Sajimo under the protection of your wings." The man was named Kiba, he was the head of all subjects pertaining to beneficial unions. Kiba had spent a vast majority of his life training himself to properly analyze situations like the one he was in now. He could read pros and cons very skillfully.  
  
"Of course, but we would then have access to your resources?" Myouga again.  
  
Kiba nodded solemnly. Kagome suspected that he was pained to release the house he had served under for so long to Hirohitoh. Because they were discussing alliance by marriage, House Sajimo would no longer be a part of this war, except for the fact that they would be fighting now with the name, Hirohitoh.  
  
"Also, we ask that the former Sajimo ruling party be allowed some power in this."  
  
"Yes, certainly. We will not forget our allies as mere subjects now that we are to be unified. Besides which, as the family of the bride you should be expecting heavy control in various matters."  
  
"You will be given partial military control, partial trade control. That was the deal."  
  
Kiba nodded again, and his eyes fell over the bit of parchment that was still spread before him. He had read it over several times during the meeting, and it had been discussed thoroughly since. It was obvious that Sajimo was doing this purely because they had smartly realized that in the end, as it had begun, things would boil down to a bloody battle between the Houses Oni and Hirohitoh. This was a very clever action, they had picked who they had felt would be the winning team, and offered to join up with them to be under their protection and good graces when it was over. Otherwise they would have never agreed. They knew by now that, despite the fact that they didn't know who the mother was specifically, Sesshomaru had a child on the way, and he wouldn't therefore gift any woman from their house with children, dashing all hopes of maybe overthrowing Hirohitoh somehow.  
  
What a silly curse it was. It had stomped so many desires.  
  
"Is it agreed then?" Miroku had asked. He hadn't spoken much, he was probably there for the same reasons that she was; to test the future, even though his abilities might be weaker than her own.  
  
"Yes." Sesshomaru, he had been silent for the most part too.  
  
"Very good." A gruff old man was speaking from the end of the of the row of seats that was House Sajimo's. His frazzled gray beard shook a bit as he spoke, holding another copy of the deal before him. "Lord Sesshomaru of House Hirohitoh will be wed to Lady Kagura of House Sajimo in the effort of creating a firm alliance between both houses. She will be wed to the Hirohitoh name, and in that respect, House Sajimo will cease to exist on the military plane." Kagome absently realized for a moment that this was the woman she had been thinking of when she had considered Sesshomaru's future wife. She would be the Lady of House Hirohitoh, though she would be given strict limits on her range of control. The man continued. "It shall be gifted, however, with partial control in the fields of trade, and military ordeals, though as previously stated, the outcome of the war shall not deal with the Sajimo name." He laced his fingers together and nodded at Sesshomaru, who nodded in return.  
  
"The wedding shall take place on the Fifth day, of the eleventh month." And with that, the meeting was concluded, and both houses rose from their seats uncomfortably, hardly able to consider each other allies just yet.  
  
For a second, Kagome remained, realizing that the wedding ceremony was only a month away. She didn't think that the Houses would be in such a hurry to finalize things, but then, it was House Sajimo's decision, perhaps they felt that the war would truly be ending soon.  
  
Her attendants began flooding in, hurrying about her in a tedious fashion, patiently expecting her to rise. She paused, and stole a glare at Miroku, who returned it menacingly. Kagome still couldn't tell if her had discovered her yet, but dismissed it haughtily. She was in no mood to be dribbling in the affairs of her sisterhood. the knife in her back.  
  
It was a particularly interesting quirk of House Sajimo: they adopted humans into their midst with such nonchalance. Miroku was human, at least half of the members of the house that were present this very day were human. How sweet. The Ruling Party, however, carried only the faintest traces of mortal blood in their veins. As she had predicted, this, Kagura would be a full-demon. No doubt she wouldn't hold her in the highest approval. It was to be expected.  
  
Her light feet pattered daintily on the gleaming floor. Her ladies trailed behind her like insects, some holding the trail of her kimono behind her. The sun was setting, Kagome didn't want to miss that. Sesshomaru slipped out of the conference room behind her back. She turned and called to him before he got to far out of sight wandering down the hall in the opposite direction.  
  
"Lord Sesshomaru." Her voice was like a bell, betraying the lost innocence she still craved deep in her heart.  
  
He stopped and looked over his shoulder.   
  
"Will there be anything else that requests my presence this evening?" They held glares for a moment, he knew what she was planning to do, though he protested, fearing for her health and the child's on the frosty nights. Kagome thought in a split second that he might withhold her from the balcony by making up a false excuse for her on the spot, but to her surprise, he shook his head.  
  
"No, though you should be expecting me when nightfalls." With that, he resumed his journey into the depths of the palace.  
  
Kagome bowed briefly out of habit, mumbling a brief, "Lord Sesshomaru," accompanied by the bird like twitters of the echoing attendants surrounding her. She wouldn't have bothered with this impulse, had she not been aware of Miroku lurking inside the conference room still; listening to them, watching them. Kagome guessed him to be a spy, but he didn't have the motivated cunning. Sesshomaru had, of course, known too, but he had dismissed it just as easily.  
  
Not another thought spared, Kagome continued with her ladies down to her chambers.  
  
Sesshomaru sat before her again, eyes flowing over her as all the other nights. She met his stare as a true Therum sister, with piercing iciness that dared him to speak. Sesshomaru was never one to betray his emotions, especially to potential enemies. He was well aware of how dangerous she could be when she wanted to. A skilled assassin, swift and striking, like a snake in the grass.  
  
The silence was intimidating in itself, though neither of them flinched. It occurred to her then, that it would be so simple to just pour it all out then, betray her sisters as they had betrayed her, warn Sesshomaru of the plan they had devised for their future child. It was so obvious, no doubt he had anticipated it, though he may not have considered the Therum as such a threat at this moment.  
  
"Why do you look at me in such a way Kagome?" His voice was low, and even inspired a tinge of fear in her.  
  
"Is it not the way that any given person would face someone they hate?" It was nearly a hiss.   
  
He remained statuesque, 'Why did he choose to speak of these things now?'  
  
"And why do you hate me, my mate?"  
  
Kagome was battling with her intense confusion. What was he doing? Was he deliberately trying to annoy her? To catch her off guard for some reason? Or was this merely a slow and deceptive way of breaking the little rebellious bit of her soul that still stayed with her? He knew the reasons for her hatred. There had to be a plot behind this. She answered truthfully none the less.  
  
"I hate you," her words were slow and careful, "because you stole away the life I had, you took my innocence against my will." Only then did she realize how pathetic those words suddenly sounded. Had she abandoned her training to such a point that she could no longer keep up with her own thoughts?  
  
His eyes flashed, "I am not to blame for those things, my mate."  
  
She bit her lip. The fact that he persistently called her "my mate" was very unnerving. He spoke with the same irritating, habitual tone that she held when she had to refer to him as "my Lord Sesshomaru." He was getting at something, but she would refuse to go along with it under the circumstances. Kagome would say what she was requested to and leave it at that. She had had enough sick games for her lifetime.  
  
"You presume that my sisters are to blame?" She muttered. He had gained the upper hand in this conversation much to quickly. Perhaps he was trying to test her temper.  
  
"I presume nothing. What I offer you now is only the truth." He was leaving her to think it over, he wanted her to ponder over this for a specific reason.   
  
She held back a sudden gasp. 'He wants to turn me against the Therum! He does suspect their strategy!' An old saying of her days in the manor with her sisters drifted back to her: tread lightly on a dangerous path, hell is waiting to drag you beneath... 'This is hell...' Kagome thought as she considered her options. It was very intelligent of Sesshomaru to set this up for her. By realizing her fate at the hand of her sisters, she could not hold it against him by saying that he had forcefully caused her betrayal, for she had thought of this herself. But Kagome wasn't so easily fooled. Her loyalty was to no one.  
  
"You stole my innocence." She persisted. Kagome was going to box this little talk into a decent conversation no matter what it took. If she continued to throw this in his face, he might abandon his hopes of trying to woo her to him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
He wasn't going down very easily.  
  
"I find it highly revolting that such a thing was thrown onto the market so many centuries before my own birth."  
  
"That was out of your control."  
  
At last! A breech! She advanced slowly.  
  
"But it was not out of yours. You could have withheld yourself and released me. It would have made all the difference."  
  
"Really?" He snarled. "I would consider what I did doing you a justice. Had I not taken you, your 'sisters' would have turned around the moment they felt opportunity was fresh and sold you to House Oni." His eyes now glinted with the very slightest hints of rage.  
  
Kagome had instantly taken note of the emphasis he placed on the word 'sisters.' He did not hold them in high regard. Sesshomaru had just severed all hopes of luring her to his side. Simply by deliberately saying the word with such ill taste, he had clearly presented his views on the subject, scooting Kagome away like a fawn wary of a hunter's trap.  
  
"Oh, and what justice was that? What is so different about you two dueling houses?" She had touched a nerve with that comment, but she was too bold now for her own good. If she drove his temper, then so be it. All the more fun for her. She was tempted to laugh.  
  
He made no move, standing icy and impenetrable. He had obviously not bargained for such a sour concubine.  
  
They had returned to their glaring spat like children, but the tension in the room was as heated as that of a true battle.  
  
Sesshomaru paused for a moment, and swiftly, an arm shot out to wrap securely around her shoulders, dragging her to him and holding her close. She relaxed against him, leaning into his warm body so that he could wrap both arms across her frame. She felt his nose burrowing into her hair, checking for a scent.  
  
"Any luck?" Kagome muttered offhandedly. She was reminded that this was what it was, and this was what it would always be. She was stuck like this. There wasn't a question; might as well back down for the moment. Fighting would get her nowhere, and it was not even in the royal concubine's best interest to remain on such hot terms with the Lord of the House, though her hatred still burned.  
  
There was no response. He stayed there, for a second longer, closing his eyes briefly and resting his head on her, before drawing away. He rose then, leaving her to the ground with her calm, no longer fuming, brown eyes staring up at him half-heartedly.  
  
He swirled around and began to pace towards the door. But before he pushed it away, he tossed a dry comment to her. "Watch where you walk woman."  
  
I know, I know, very short.... Well, I have stuff to do during the Fourth of July, family and such, as previously stated, so I expect that I won't have too much time to write. I just wanted to get another chapter out before then. Nobody asked how Inuyasha and Sesshomaru could be brothers because of their family's curse. That was surprising. Also, Sesshomaru will have BOTH arms, thank you very much. That's that. Longer chapter next time, I promise. 


	3. Chapter 3

Hey...GUESS WHO FINALLY UPDATED! Wow, am I great or what?! Anyway, here's the latest chapter. I'm sorry but it is with tremendous chagrin that I report that it just gets even more confusing. Make the best of it boys and girls. I'm starting the chapter with a quote from Dune. I think I'll do that every time. It's just a way of paying respect to the book because for those of you who have read it, you know that all the chapters started the same way.  
  
***  
  
Disclaimer-Don't own anything related to Dune or Inuyasha. Everything belongs to Rumiko Takahashi or Frank Herbert. And the quote is totally, all of it, Frank Herbert's. Yes.  
  
***  
  
Flower Blooming  
  
Chapter 3-"Control the coinage and courts-let the rabble have the rest. If you want profits, you must rule." There is truth in these words, but I ask myself: "Who are the rabble and who are the ruled?"  
  
***  
  
"The priests...the damnable priests..." She muttered angrily. It was a well known fact that she despised them, which was why she had no trouble crying it to the sky.  
  
"Honestly My Lady, let them have their way, they are of no significance."  
  
"That is not what bothers me Korba. What bothers me is that they have the potential. Surely you see the obvious, if they ever gained any more control than they have now, they could be a rival to the Therum, which is of course what everyone expects, and they are so disgustingly willing to please."  
  
"My Lady, is that not what you pray for every night as you have told me? Why would you wish to protect your sisters?"  
  
She lowered her eyes and glared at him from beneath her hair, resisting the urge to sigh over-dramatically, "Surely you jest. I want them stamped out, I don't want them replaced. They would know better than to make an alliance with the priests, so don't even start. If anything, and you know this, it would boil down to another war; as if we needed more of that."  
  
Korba chuckled gruffly, "You are so critical My Lady. Do you not think it possible that they simply live admirably in your sisters' shadow?"  
  
"Please refrain from calling that lot my sisters, and no, that is not possible. Not only do I know it because of their smug faces and obvious strategies, but I have seen it. It's written all over time because it is so important. Thank the Gods that it is only a possibility, but a possibility nonetheless."  
  
"I see...And, if I may, what were the other possibilities?"  
  
There was a silence. "I could not see them. Yet another matter that the Rengola will have to decide for us."  
  
Korba's gentle face became stern, "My Lady, do not call it by the formal title that the Therum do. It is your child, treat it as such."  
  
Kagome shut her eyes, and said in a small, calm voice, "Korba... This is not my child anymore." When she lifted hazel orbs to him again, they were lined with something the elderly general would never have imagined seeing from the strong Lady Kagome.  
  
"Lady Kagome..."  
  
"Hush, it is something that neither of us can change. I will be there when it is born, and I will see it raised, but that is all I will be allowed. It is not up to me."  
  
The carriage halted suddenly, and Kagome prepared herself to rise again. Korba rose with her, and they each were lead out. Standing on the soft grass, dark grey clouds overhead threatened rain. "Do not bother yourself with these troubles Korba." She whispered, now speaking quietly in the midst of the many eyes and ears upon her. Routinely, she flipped her white shawl up over her head, while a handful of ladies swooped upon her, fastening the slip of cloth that covered her mouth, and the small veil that covered her eyes. Completely hidden then, she nodded to Korba, and they began the ascent up to the Holy Temple of Atalaya. The priests were there, waiting for them, and Sesshomaru, and the rest of the ruling party of House Hirohitoh. She wouldn't have been asked to come, had it not been for the fact that she was the mother of the royal heir. That and the fact that she could see time like others saw colors.  
  
Korba followed her out obediently, and together they promptly drew into their wake a small swarm of soldiers; each bearing a weapon of some sort with obvious pride.  
  
They quietly took each step with careful, practiced elegance and etiquette. There was a slight, notable limp in Korba as he half-dragged a leg that had been wounded in battle sometime during his many years. They were a strange couple. Kagome was a lady in every right and aspect; her pristine clothes hung on her timid body in beautiful splendor. She was a symbol of the new world, of demons and spirits and Therum witches. She was a solid representation of the steady evolution of humanity; of how it had grown so much that it was creating concepts that were so unbelievable they could almost be considered fantasy. And here, walking beside her, was a worn soldier of a bleak generation. He was covered in scars that each told a story; his small black eyes were nestled in tanned, rough flesh. His lengthy, crisped black hair was combed back and hung loose. He was a survivor from the old days when things were as they should be and there was nothing but reality. That was still the same, to a point. This was reality, whether he could survive in it this time was another matter entirely.  
  
How odd that when he should have been intimidated by Kagome, he had been drawn to her instantly. He pitied her situation and envied her strength at the same time. Her strength...It was something that Kagome herself was not even aware of. The Therum had stifled her knowledge of it, how predictable. Kagome in her own mind believed that all of her strength was spent. Often Korba thought of revealing it to her, but decided that were she to know now, she might do something terribly rash.  
  
Korba himself was Sesshomaru's foremost general; wizened and weathered by both military experience, and his own tragedies connected to House Oni. His own sister had been taken from him after a life of slavery together in their hands. He couldn't be sure where she had died, where her body lay, or even if it had been buried at all. He didn't even know if she was actually dead, but it was nearly impossible that she was still alive. After making a desperate attempt at freedom by fleeing his captors, Sesshomaru himself had found him at the young age of nineteen, and taken him in as a type of son; though as the years passed and his knowledge and power grew while Sesshomaru remained the immaculate picture of youth, their relationship soon changed from that of father and son, to that of old friends. Sometimes even Korba a mentor to Sesshomaru, rather than the other way around. There was much that Sesshomaru could learn, when experiencing the rapid life of a human compared to his of agelessness.  
  
Korba was fascinated by this young, delicate creature now in his midst. He was certain that she would be a perfect mother, were she ever to convince herself that the little life she held in her womb was not anyone's but hers. Despite Sesshomaru being such a dear friend, he found himself worrying over his lack of kindness to Kagome. He secretly feared that his obvious lack of concern for her would lead to the destruction of the young mother's soul.  
  
It was this fear, his pity, and his admiration that had drawn him to Kagome. And Kagome had been drawn to him because of his gentle, almost loving manner. She had never known a father, given the strict boundaries between the Therum and the opposite sex, and Korba was the type of person she had always imagined her father being.  
  
It was raining mournfully; coming down in a dissatisfying, thin layer that could have been mistaken for mist. In this region, the mountains, the sun had hardly been seen for all of five days; only lonesome rain and bleary black-grey clouds.  
  
The temple, famous for once being beautiful and marvelous, was set in a mountain valley, surrounded on all sides by snowy peaks, and resting comfortably on a stretch of long, withering grass. Two columns formed the entrance, spreading up to form a thick arch at the top, some fifty feet about the ground. From those two columns, on either side, geometrical shapes had been hewn in the stone to create a maze like image. It was identical on all sides. Beneath the towering entrance, a stretch of small steps crowded down to spill out onto the lawn. Everything was created from the same gold-brown rock.  
  
As the rain grew heavier umbrellas sprouted up simultaneously over the two royals' heads like flowers opening. Kagome cursed very quietly under her breathe and hiked up her skirts just a bit more to keep from tripping on them while walking on the slippery stone.  
  
No one said a word; the only sound was the rain splattering rhythmically. Their group passing up the steps and Sesshomaru and his host of soldiers and officials, all dressed in the traditional soft colors of Hirohitoh made the entire picture that of something resembling a funeral procession. Kagome imagined it as being just as repetitive and distant as that very thing. She hated the visits Sesshomaru made her undertake to the temples. She hated the priests because they were too similar to the Therum.  
  
***  
  
"Recording states...as read from the Scroll of Aisha, Life..."  
  
The Earth had been in the grip of war for centuries. With a demon uprising beginning shortly after the dawn of time, what little of mankind's power both physical and political had been shoved into the background. Demons had control over everything, more or less.  
  
They had evolved to the point where they could govern themselves in such a fashion that resembled something that a human civilization might do. Many chose humanoid forms, and for those humans or, in some cases, demons, who had not been gifted with psychic or spiritual abilities, it was growing very difficult to tell the two races apart.  
  
Technology was clashing dramatically with the tradition that still very much existed in society. Many soldiers that marched proudly to battle lugged large, bulky guns rather than sword or spear. Metal had been woven into architectural design more than ever before. Many buildings stretched farther to the sky, with tall iron beams supporting them. Ghostly temples like Atalaya were figures of the past, made with "pure" materials as the very elderly sometimes called them. They were pure because they were usually not metal of any type, and metal created the weapons of war; metal had helped bring about a new age of blood.  
  
With the rise of technology, there had also been the rise of psychology. Practices like Tara Onu, Getsa-chi, and Fanan Dai were all ways of tapping into the psyche and releasing energy. All of them had started by analyzing the mind. They showed how it could be stimulated and molded, how it could be lead to believe things that, perhaps weren't real, but thus fooled the body into abiding by natural laws of its own making. The creation of these methods, and there are thousands, were all major events in history, and surprisingly, more often they were created by humans rather than demons. The human mind is far less extreme than a demon one; extreme in the sense that, a demon mind is usually extremely rigid and set, or totally unstable. Whereas, a human mind is right between the two, and so can be worked with more easily.   
  
The Therum, specifically, dabbled in the affairs of the mind and body with these methods (the entire practice being commonly known as Human Psycho-Pseudo Control), and the founders of the organization also happened to be the founders of the idea itself.  
  
The practice Human Psycho-Pseudo Control was basically what saved the human race from being forgotten entirely. Using their new knowledge to tap into hidden stores of strength, they became a force that was just enough to rival the demons again; if not enough to defeat them. That and the fact that the vast population of said race was enough so that many were captured for slavery or used for soldiers.  
  
Some demon races even considered humans as more than shrewd, nagging animals; some thought of them as equal, though such a case was very rare. Only a handful of humans, excepting the Therum and the Priests, ever managed to officially work themselves into positions of power. Yet even so, humans still played an enormous role in everything, and made very few protests against the demon rule, though groups of protest were still established and created small plans of fights for dominance once again. Demons chose to ignore these groups and found they posed very little, if any threat. Indeed, they had themselves to worry about.  
  
Certainly humans put up small fight when the demons took the upper-hand and conquered the Earth, but that still did not mean peace. Demons are monsters, there's no getting around it. They have a thirst for blood that is unrivaled, and they will never be satisfied.  
  
There were small, territorial fights for years, though not anything that could be called war. The Royal Houses were created as a result of early disagreements over land and how things should be ordered about, and so on. The fighting never really started until House Hirohitoh was cursed by House Oni, in such a way that was disgraceful, ridiculous, and frustrating. Generation after generation, they had to risk everything on a single birth.  
  
The battling had escalated to the point where no one was entirely sure that the curse was the true reason, but it still remained the most probable answer. Houses joined the fighting throughout the years.  
  
The war, yet to be named, had lasted for a millennia. While it increased the demand for more growth in technology and the like, it slowed everything down at the same time. Demons and humans both were now blinded by bloodlust, the Houses were gradually melding together to form two opposing sides, many feared that it would boil down to stupid, thoughtless fighting and nothing more. Still others feared it because it was punishment sent by the gods. They claimed that the Lords of Heaven were trying to clear away demons, humans, animals, everything, to start anew because the creatures of the Earth had shamed them with their foolish battling.  
  
Starting over again.  
  
The Priest cleared his throat and started again in a deep voice that echoed through the temple and bounced off the walls.  
  
"The Recording...as read from the Scroll of Aisha, Life, states that the war shall be ended soon, and that all shall rejoice in a new life free of bloodshed and turmoil; that this Earth will only be stronger for its pain."  
  
Kagome huffed and narrowed her eyes, glaring at the huddled mass of people that had gathered in the temple shortly after she had arrived with Korba. 'They've been saying that for a thousand years.'  
  
***  
  
Her mind, trying to overcome sleep and boredom, struggled to remember what the whole escapade was about in the first place. Something a monk said sparked her memory and she was brought back to the situation at hand. This happened every year, according to Korba.   
  
The Priests were a very strange bunch. Mostly men (whether that was a move to spite the Therum or simply to uphold the ancient idea that males were and should be closer to God was not clear); demons, and sometimes humans, they claimed to be true religious visionaries when in fact it was obvious to everyone that their religious fanaticism was actually just a disguise to conceal their true purpose; to improve, warp, and expand upon Human Psycho-Pseudo Control.  
  
Somehow, through posing as an innocent organization of humble monks, they had wooed the Great Houses into paying respect to the Gods. It was initially part of the rouse; the priests felt that by appearing so dedicated as to ask the Houses to take part in religion they might further lead them to believe that they actually were humble monks. And the Houses, feeling that it would be far less tedious to simply go along with it rather than take the time to obliterate something that was obviously so tenacious that it would spring back up again after a few decades, complied.  
  
What Kagome, Korba, Sesshomaru, and they others were being forced to go through was a routine process that told the Priests whether or not the Houses were trying to destroy them yet, or, as they put it, "Proving Faithfulness to the Gods."  
  
It was asked that the Lord of the House and the Officials of the House come to the Holy Temple of Atalaya (the most famous and grand temple in the vast network that belonged to the Priests) and sign the Holy Scroll of Aisha, Life, with their own blood.   
  
It was a private joke between Kagome and Korba that the Priests were almost blowing what little cover they had by preceding nearly everything that belonged to their organization with the word "Holy."  
  
Humans and demons made enormous journeys to Atalaya to see the event, no matter the house. To those who came, it really did appear to be a show of dedication to the Gods. The crowd standing before the raised dais on which the royal Hirohitoh party and a small number of Priests was comprised of such people.  
  
Kagome looked upon them all and smiled ruefully. 'What fools...'  
  
The Monk concluded his reading from the Holy Scroll of Aisha, Life and a Priest began the process of cutting the index fingers of the Royal Party so that they could sign the Scroll. Kagome watched with carefully hidden amusement as the Priest paled when Sesshomaru stepped forth and extended his hand to be hut by the Holy Dagger of Nana. To this man, it could mean both his, and his organization's, life or death. The relief was clear on his face when Sesshomaru turned to the parchment that was the Holy Scroll and dragged his finger across it.  
  
After Seshomaru, his brother, Inuyasha, went, and then Korba was cut; after Korba, Kagome came forth.  
  
She offered her small, pale hand to the Priest and the crowd seemed to lean forward with earnest curiosity. Her ears caught snippets of their conversation. It seemed that despite the efforts of Hirohitoh, news of the conceiving of an heir had somehow circulated through to the masses.   
  
"Is that the mother?"   
  
"Is she human?"  
  
She raised her chin from under the layers of silk that had been wrapped over her and refused to flinch as the metal grazed her skin lightly. She signed the Scroll, and moved on to stand by Sesshomaru's side.  
  
After every member of the party had signed Aisha, the Priests concluded the ceremony with a long, over dramatic speech about the power of the Gods and everyone started filing out gradually. As Kagome was ushered out through her sea of hand maidens, she found her way to Korba's side and whispered, "Look out there Korba, don't trip on the Holy Doorstop as you make your way out."  
  
Korba laughed softly.  
  
***  
  
Look at that, isn't it lovely? Chapter three, all neat and beautiful. That whole thing with the priests was basically to make room for a way to explain basically what's going on in this world at the time. Try to keep in mind that while technology is advancing rapidly, they still have a society that's mostly based on what resembles the traditional Japanese culture from around the Feudal Era. If you have questions (because I know it's all probably confusing) please e-mail them to me or include them in a review. I'll be happy to answer. 


	4. Chapter 4

What can I say? Inspiration has been striking. I like this story. It is very much fun to work on. Enjoy this updating spree while it lasts children; because I assure you...heh heh...it won't.  
  
Disclaimer: Don't own it. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, everything that has to do with Dune belongs to Frank Herbert...or...whoever owns it now that he has...passed on.  
  
***  
  
Flower Blooming  
  
Chapter 4-"Atrocity is recognized as such by victim and predator alike, all who learn about it at whatever remove. Atrocity has no excuses, no mitigating argument. Atrocity never balances or rectifies the past. Atrocity merely arms the future for more atrocity. It is self-perpetuating upon itself-a barbarous form of incest. Whoever commits atrocity also commits those future atrocities thus bred."  
  
***  
  
Kagome was drifting...swaying...moving. Her eyes had gone first, that was the easy part. The hard part was all of the other senses, of which she had hundreds. She let herself die slowly. She had never learned just how far one could go to the point where they actually did die and could not return.  
  
She let her consciousness go bit by bit until she was blind, then she was deaf, then her mouth went dry and she felt pain for a moment. Next, she lost the ability to smell, and then...then touch went. Touch was very difficult, almost as difficult as eliminating all of her spiritual senses and psychic senses. As you abandoned touch, you felt everything drop out from beneath you. It is frightening at first, then confusing. After that she could move on through her powers, dropping them one after another. Kagome lost every sense she had except for her unique gift of seeing time.  
  
The Therum called it Shye-ri, after the Sister who had perfected it. It was a form of meditation that allowed those with Therum blood to make the most of their abilities to see time. They could descend deeper and deeper into their own minds and bodies until they were only connecting with that blood, with time. It replaced all senses with time; you saw time, you touched time, you tasted it, you heard it, you smelled it. It was not time-travel, as so many mistook it to be. Time travel was moving backwards or forwards through it, and then returning to a normal pace. It had nothing to do with actually understanding the flow of it. For Kagome, it was less dangerous. Her blood was so strong that she was almost in Shye-ri at all hours of the day and night. This was just expanding on her normal condition throughout the day.  
  
Her state perfected, she let herself drift in her new environment. She was assuaged lightly by conceptions of the future and past. Her most favorite occurrence was when a past life would come to her. Kagome was attached to all of her ancestors while in Shye-ri. Their memories were her memories. And in her present state, she could access those memories and experience them herself. In Shye-ri she might become her great-great-grandmother while she was riding over the land on the back of a stallion, or her third cousin while she journeyed outside of her manor for the first time. It could get boring sometimes, because she could only access the memories of her female relatives, and their lives would always be connected to the Therum, but Kagome enjoyed it regardless because it was something different to her own situation in reality.  
  
She was going on one such jaunt, where she adapted a new memory to fit her mind and body so that she was tricked into thinking that she was actually experiencing whatever she was engaging in.  
  
She chose to be one of her more adventurous sisters. This girl, her name was...Adente, she was very beautiful and strong. In life, Adente had even been so bold as to entertain thoughts of escaping the Therum. Adente had been part of the breeding program to create the Rengola, and so she had also been driven to try and escape her fixed mating.  
  
***  
  
Adente stared out blankly before her. It was amazing, she had never seen anything like it. All of the feelings and emotions she had strived for years to destroy came bubbling up to her and in the rush she found herself speechless.  
  
Her trembling hand came up and fidgeted with the hem of her hood. The black robe that streamed down from it swayed about her feet in the warm wind. Her mouth hung open just a bit, and she suddenly realized that this was what she had dreamed about, longed for in the back of her mind all along. This pure, lovely, perfect land that was totally above everything else the earth had to offer. Her legs twitched involuntarily with the desire to run; run forever and ever across the landscape until she died in happy exhaustion.  
  
One of her companions stirred beside her and she turned. The man was old and brown skinned from guiding wanderers around for ages. Adente realized for a moment that he was human, like herself. 'How rare...'  
  
She stared at him awkwardly, her azure eyes were beaming radiantly with pure bliss. The man looked taken aback. "Do...you like the desert my lady?"  
  
Adente turned back to the sands and gasped as she experienced the shock of seeing something that was not crawling with green again. All she had ever known was land that was crowded with trees and life, it occurred to her that theses things were nothing but parasites. This...this was what it should look like. This was paradise. The man at her side had been right to make this place his home.  
  
Purity, pure land. Land that was as it should be. Pure land. Like the land in the beginning...and the end. She could escape to this land and start over again.  
  
Start over again...  
  
Her head looked back and she regarded the mountains. They were tall and ominous, stretching above her and behind her for miles and miles. Some jagged peaks were dipped in snow. Just over those mountains the green was thriving again and infecting the soil with its strange poison.  
  
He cleared his throat. Her eyes drifted back to him again. "Yes, I like it very much."  
  
He smiled softly and she reached for his hand. "What is your name Lord?"  
  
"My Lady..." His voice was laced with the accent that belonged to the desert people. Rough, blurred syllables that were at the same time very sharp. "I am hardly a lord." He looked puzzled when she fitted her small fingers in between his.  
  
"You are my Lord."  
  
He was suddenly lost in Adente's gaze and she returned his quiet smile affectionately. "Setag."  
  
"Setag," she repeated, trying it on her tongue. "It suits you. Shall we go into the desert now, My Lord Setag?"  
  
"Yes, Lady."  
  
Something rocked through her with an affect closely resembling a tremor. This was Kagome. Adente was contentedly traveling into the desert with the man she had abysmally fallen in love with in a few moments, but something was happening to Kagome.  
  
She was torn from the memory, and it faded away from her; rippling like water being stirred. Her mind reeled in pain. What was going on? What had happened? Why was she losing the memory...  
  
Back in reality, in her room, her physical body gasped suddenly from where it lay neatly on her bed, and her limbs convulsed in a spasm of pain.  
  
***  
  
She sat trembling, sitting on her legs with a straight back and eyes focused out in front of her solemnly, but she could not conceal the trembling, no matter how hard she tried. 'I am afraid...' Kagome thought absently. Her teachings, her knowledge had all faded away in light of this new situation.  
  
How could they have done this to her? How could they have abandoned her to this...this life? It wasn't even a life. Nothing would be a life to her anymore. Nothing. She had no home, no friends or allies, she was totally alone now and forever because they had betrayed her. Kagome wanted desperately to curl into a ball and die, but she knew no one would allow it. She was bound to the earth. She had been bred and promised, alive.  
  
Her shoulders sagged in a sob and she screwed her eyes shut tight. She wanted her Caretaker to hold her again and whisper soft things to he like in the old days before she knew of all of this; she didn't want to be strong or brave. Tears streamed down from her eyes and she made soft hurt noises.  
  
'I don't want this...I don't want this...I don't want this...' Her mind repeated it over and over again until she began whispering it to herself. The agony of it all was almost unbearable. It was crushing and suffocating and she had never felt anything like it before. Always Kagome had had her Therum gifts to support her but now she couldn't use those. So long as she had life in her she would never ever use those damn wretched powers again!  
  
Her fear was partially replaced by anger and her fingers balled up around the folds of her clothing in little fists. The darkness all around her was consuming her steadily. How she wished for light, something so that she could at least look around and be comforted by her natural ability to see.  
  
Kagome knew where she was. Palace guards had taken her from her room abruptly, led her to this place and ordered her to sit down beside the bed. She had never been here before, but she knew it was Sesshomaru's room.  
  
The light she had been praying for suddenly peeked in and she heard a door open behind her where she could not see. The light disappeared just as suddenly as it had come and she was left alone again in total darkness. But now it was worse, now someone had come. Sesshomaru had come.  
  
Dangerously silent, almost predatory, stalking steps drew closer to her from behind and she tightened in fear and started whispering again. "No...no...no...no...no..."  
  
"No?"  
  
She felt something sharp-a claw, drag itself up her spine slowly, cutting through the thin silk of her kimono and raking her bare skin. Kagome gasped and the animalistic terror that had filled her suddenly reached its peak and she lashed out with her hand, making to shove him away. But it was dark, she was blind, and he had anticipated this from her. His speed and grace allowed him to capture her wrist in his grasp as her fist was rushing toward him. His other hand mimicked its twin and she felt herself being pushed backwards onto the bed.  
  
He was hovering above her, pinning her down, and she was no match for his strength. The tears flowed more freely. He laid her out so that she was on her back, her arms stretched out and still forced down at the wrists. Her legs were still folded up a bit.  
  
He came closer to her, she felt his breath on her cheek, and then it moved to her ear, where he whispered, his lips grazing her flesh just slightly, "You are wise to be afraid."  
  
Kagome bit back a scream. She felt him sliding his fingers across the skin of her left leg, working upwards and gathering the kimono away as they went. They began drifting to her upper thigh, and she screamed.  
  
***  
  
Kagome's eyes burst open, and her she found herself panting, curled into a shaking ball on her side. Her clothes and hair were drenched in cold sweat. Her fingers were wrapped around her bed covers. After a few moments spent restoring her breath and her resolve, she began untwisting herself from her position.  
  
Still trembling, she dragged herself up and looked around her room, drawing heaving gasps of air as she did so. Slowly, she eased herself into some semblance of order and was on the verge of calming herself fully when she turned and saw Sesshomaru staring at her icily from the side of her bed.  
  
A strange instinct took control of her and she screamed. Sesshomaru struck at her and clamped a hand firmly over her mouth to stifle the scream. Kagome fought back, thrashing wildly, and writhing with all of her strength. He began speaking to her, telling her sternly that she had to relax. She persisted, and began to cry.  
  
Gradually, her struggles dimmed and she exhausted herself. But when he had finally persuaded her to cease her wild behavior and removed his hand from her mouth, she was still whispering softly, "No..."  
  
"Kagome. Stop this."  
  
She continued to whisper for awhile until she lifted herself from the bed once more and turned to him again, this time without the frightened reaction. "Sesshomaru... what have you done?"  
  
His voice was not the slightest bit comforting, or...predatory, but void of emotion, as she had usually known it. "You were meditating. I interrupted you."  
  
Kagome's thoughts returned in disorder, slowly. "I-Interrupted me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She shut her eyes and sighed. His touch must have ignited one of her own memories. Of course Sesshomaru, someone she had to deal with nearly every day and had such strong feelings of rage and hate for would aggravate her in such a way. "I, I..." She trailed off and mentally berated herself for a second for even thinking of confiding in him, a monster. But for whatever reason, she desperately wanted to talk....to him. "I was meditating, yes. What do you want Sesshomaru?"  
  
"It is night."  
  
Kagome was puzzled, and then she remembered. "Oh yes. What have we to discuss this evening?"  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Nothing? That is good. Shall I still expect to see you again tomorrow?"  
  
There was a pause. "What game are you playing?"  
  
"I play no game Sesshomaru. Please, let us finish this pointless conversation. I am very tired."  
  
"What were you doing?" She knew immediately that he was inquiring after the child's health, not her own.  
  
"Nothing that would upset anything."  
  
Another pause.  
  
"Don't do it again."  
  
"Don't...But Sesshomaru!" Shye-ri was what she depended on to keep her stable. Experiencing those memories that were not her own was, like her visits to the balcony, one of the few comforts she was allowed.  
  
"I have given you an order. Do not do it again."  
  
Kagome knew it was useless trying to argue with him, and she was suddenly drained of her little energy. She sank back, and seemed to shrink. "Yes."  
  
She wished him to leave her in peace then, for him to just go. She wanted to be alone to cry herself to sleep.  
  
He quickly drew her forward and pressed his face into her hair. Then withdrew. He left without saying a word, and by the time he had made his way to the door, the tears had already come.  
  
***  
  
As Sesshomaru was leaving, Korba came running down the hall from his room not far away. "I heard Lady Kagome scream," he said shortly as he halted before him.  
  
"Nothing is wrong."  
  
He looked concerned all the same. Sesshomaru briefly explained: "I interrupted her while she was meditating, it hailed a frightened reaction, and she screamed out of shock." It was mostly a lie, but he was a very talented liar. Not even Korba could catch him in one.  
  
"I...see. Will Lady Kagome be alright then?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He leaned over and looked past Sesshomaru to Kagome's door. "I can hear her crying."  
  
"She is recovering."  
  
Korba looked a little stunned. "Will you not comfort her My Lord?"  
  
"She does not need it." With that, Sesshomaru brushed past him and continued down the hall. He heard Korba enter Kagome's room quietly.  
  
***  
  
Yeah well, this was probably the last chapter that just sort of explains stuff. In the next chapters, things really start happening. Yah. 


	5. Chapter 5

Hey hey, look who updated. This story's a bitch to write sometimes, so if there are long pauses...yeah, that's just me having problems again. By the way, I was a little tired and a lot grouchy when I wrote this chapter, so if there are mistakes, whoops.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you think I shouldn't own.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 5-"A Sophisticated human can become primitive. What this really means is that the human's way of life changes. Old values change, become linked to the landscape with its plants and animals. This new existence requires a working knowledge of those multiplex and cross-linked events usually referred to as nature. It requires a measure of respect for the inertial power within such natural systems. When a human gains this working knowledge and respect, that is called 'being primitive.' The converse of course, is equally true: the primitive can become sophisticated, but not without accepting dreadful psychological damage."  
  
***  
  
Kagome trembled only slightly in Korba's loose embrace. While her sweet tears soaked the cloth of his shirt front he softly soothed her hair. She had never been one to openly cry, even before she had been surrendered to the Western Lands, Korba could only imagine what had stirred such emotions in the bitter creature, for she refused to tell him.  
  
Presently she withdrew from his arms and sat solemnly before him. Her image was entirely disturbed, hair tumbling everywhere, make-up disheveled and coursing down her cheeks with her tears. She carefully primped her clothing briefly, and then sighed. The sigh was uneven and awry.  
  
"I should die Korba..." She said quietly, looking away from him towards the open doors of her balcony.  
  
Korba struggled with her words, the pain they caused him was supremely immense. More so not because the moral ethics of the proposition were wrong, but because he agreed. Many times since he had discovered the purpose of the Karatherium Korba had turned over the consequences of the operation, and what would come of producing a single child with such radical powers. Even more terrible to him, a weathered veteran of the accursed tortures of the war, a man who had lost his only family to it, was that he had not remembered Kagome's rights as a human being when he imagined the possibilities of the birth. He had only seen the onslaught of bloodshed and the animalistic battle for superiority...He had not acknowledged that the Karatherium would be such a fragile, beautiful, precious thing.  
  
She should die. He should kill her, he should destroy what represented another thousand years of vengeful hate and death.  
  
But he could not do it. His eyes drifted over Kagome's wavering form, and saw someone who desperately craved to turn away from everything. She wanted to die, it wasn't just a question of if she should. Korba had been her last hope for release in the swarm of close protection, and he would betray her as well.  
  
As he continued to look at her, Korba at last found words to speak. Well-worn words that he had tried over and over on Kagome and never once found decent results. "Do not wish for death when you still have something to live for, My Lady."  
  
She turned a little and smiled at him balefully over her shoulder, "You speak of the baby?"  
  
Korba nodded, suddenly remembering his old feeling of being a fool in her presence, and the feeling was true. His words were foolish, and he knew it.  
  
"Do not worry Korba," she said suddenly, "You will not kill me. It's not part of our future." Her smile broadened as she found her footing gracefully and walked towards the open doors of her balcony to chase the shadows that chased the sun.  
  
***  
  
The famous mystery of House Hirohitoh. The mystery of the brothers, Prince Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru. In the first twenty-five years following their birth, it had been announced that they were not, as was the popular belief, full brothers, but in fact half brothers of a five year difference. The representatives of the house claimed that the two young lords were born of the same mother, not the same father. It was a dear, costly risk to say such things. First and foremost it suggested that the women of the house were not as royal or eloquent as had been boasted, and that the men were careless enough to allow such ordeals.  
  
But it was something that needed to be done, to conceal the truth. The truth that Hirohitoh had decided was more beneficial as a secret than as an exposed truth.  
  
However, it was strongly suspected that this was a lie. The manner of the brothers was certainly different in almost all aspects, but their physical appearances were entirely too similar to possibly be anything else but direct siblings. Physical appearance that pointed to the silver-haired, golden-eyed father, not the astute mother who claimed none of the said features.  
  
It was a strange thing to regard, a strange thing to dwell on. The mystery of the truth behind it all was a secret entrusted to a very select few, many of which no longer dwelt in the realm of the living for security's sake.  
  
***  
  
Kagome sat before her tall mirror once again, feeling strangely uncomfortable seeing her real reflection instead of the flurry of hand maidens landing over her like a flock of birds. Her pale skin stood out more than ever before; a sickly shade, in Korba's opinion. She hadn't told anyone about her habits, so they would never know just why she appeared so ill. She didn't tell them about how she abandoned half of her robes to sit out on the balcony in recent days. She didn't tell them that she requested to eat in total solitude so that no one would see her throw away the food. She didn't tell them that she had been carefully using her teachings to monitor the little amount of sleep she allowed herself every night. She didn't tell them that she was trying to kill herself.  
  
The Therum had never prepared for this possibility, perhaps the single thing Kagome had ever heard of them over looking. Never had a student been motivated enough to use her techniques against them in such a fashion. The fasting that Kagome did, the sleep deprivation, everything was a result of what she had learned from the Therum. It gave her a certain wicked satisfaction that she hadn't felt for a very long time to know each night that she was finally getting the better of them...and for such a desired cause.  
  
The thought made her inwardly smile, a brief moment of pride before she once again resumed studying her reflection with a conscious effort. Frowning, Kagome touched her cheek lightly. It was so cold... Her fingers gathered in her hair, and she immediately noticed that it was thin and limp. No matter the attention the Therum paid to their lessons, there were always some physical side-effects that could not be eliminated.  
  
Her ever present anxiety–Sesshomaru, entered her thoughts again. Were he to discover her plans he would not be able to punish her in any fashion due to the child within her, but that was not what would trouble her about him finding out anyway. What Kagome had to worry over was to what measures he would go to be sure that she would never be able to try for suicide again.  
  
The idea made Kagome scowl. Her privacy had already been torn at in every way, it would bother her greatly if Sesshomaru doubled his watch over her. And then there were always her dear evenings on the balcony, most certainly he would take those away; which was in itself a punishment, now that she thought about it.  
  
She would have to do something to fix the situation of her appearance soon. Somehow she would have to make up an excuse or disguise her features. There had to be a way to accomplish it, Kagome just had to find out what that was. There were countless demon "spells" in existence, though many were seldom used either due to outlaw or danger.  
  
Demon spells were highly unstable. Most considered them to be purely fictional, as rare as they were now. The spells that remained had remained for years, thrown into existence around that time that demons had been. Due to their creation around such a primitive age, they in turn were considered primitive. But as haphazard as they were, they were extremely potent and powerful. This was what had lead them to banishment, because something that was meant to sting could often end up being something that would kill.  
  
The spells could be used by humans, but they were still based on demon strength. They relied on earthly mysticism that was wild and truly demon, nothing else besides.  
  
The Therum publicly ridiculed the demon spells, but ever aware of the power they promised, they naturally dabbled with them somehow. Kagome's most private lessons had been given to her on the spells. Therefore, though she did not mention it, she was adept in her power to wield them. To her knowledge, not even Sesshomaru knew that she had such power. She treasured her small number of secrets, and so she didn't reveal her talents to him and spite her sisters just this once.  
  
As her mind turned over the possibilities of using the demon spells, she realized a flaw. Were she to use them as a way to disguise her sickly features (and she knew it was possible), she would need to investigate them somehow. The Therum had required her to memorize what texts they had had in their possession on the subject, but Kagome knew that there was nothing she could use for such an occasion that she had in her mind at the moment.  
  
A solution was slowly born in her thoughts; she remembered something from her training. In prominent demon houses, the children were forced at an early age to become familiar with the spells, to the point where they were able to use them with frightening accuracy.  
  
Kagome was not about to ask Sesshomaru herself if there was a way to cover her symptoms, nor was she going to challenge Inuyasha; though more agreeable, he was far more volatile than Sesshomaru, and Kagome also knew that he despised her, because she was a human. Inuyasha despised humans with every fiber of his being.  
  
However, Kagome knew where the knowledge she was seeking could be found. The palace had a set of magnificent libraries. They were guarded, and vast, and the only one that might possibly contain the text she wanted, Sesshomaru's, was blocked off from everyone save a select few. Kagome was not one of the select few. He did not trust her; and he was wise for it.  
  
Another frown arose on her face as she studied yet another problem. But like the last, her predicament was easily solved. For Korba just happened to be allowed into the library. That would require Kagome explaining her thoughts to him, but it was a risk she was willing to take. Her skills told her that he would agree, though reluctantly. In his heart he was not opposed to the idea of Kagome taking her own life.  
  
She hadn't been lying when she had told him that his killing her wouldn't be part of their future as two people. He wouldn't do it, but she would at least try. Kagome did not know, however, if she would be successful. Peculiarly that was not in her sight.  
  
***  
  
Miroku stalked the halls with a menacing grace. The brighter lights had been extinguished hours ago, leaving him in misty darkness. The whites of his eyes glowed when he stepped into the dimmest, lingering light.  
  
He turned a corner and stopped abruptly. There were doors in front of him that he did not want to open. A guard stood on either side, he regarded them both silently. He was not sure if he should take the Hirohitoh crests on their uniforms as good signs or bad signs. They were same two escorts that had come with her when she had arrived from her own house a week ago. Just, transformed.  
  
Miroku explained his name, position, and purpose to them shortly. They showed no signs of having heard him, and he knew it was his signal to enter. Carefully he pulled the double doors back and entered the room.  
  
It was filled with bitterness. He detested everything about the place immediately, and even more so when he spotted Kagura sitting adamantly by a window. She looked grossly absorbed in something which she hated. All her thoughts were directed with utmost malice at whatever was on her mind. She looked dangerously fierce, but Miroku had handled her flaring temper before with as much ease as anything else.  
  
"Say something Miroku," she snapped suddenly.  
  
He walked to her and bowed regally before sitting down near her. Kagura was usually more comfortable when he did ridiculous things like that. Miroku theorized that she needed to know she was above someone else to survive. Having settled himself down before her, he started to speak. "Lady Kagura," he addressed her solemnly, hoping that the statement alone might be enough to quell her anger.  
  
She spun around instantly and fixed her fiery gaze upon him. "Is that all you can say to me?"  
  
Her foul behavior got to Miroku for a second, and he narrowed his eyes coldly without a word, just to spite her.  
  
Realizing after a moment that he wouldn't respond, Kagura exhaled sharply in a hiss and faced the window again, "What are you going to tell me today?"  
  
He smiled and straightened his back, "Perhaps My Lady, you would care to hear of Lord Sesshomaru's concubine?"  
  
"Concubine?" She was interested.  
  
"Yes My Lady, his concubine."  
  
Her body turned to face him again, "Could this be the Therum fool you are speaking of, Miroku?"  
  
He nodded to her, though he was slightly put off by Kagura's calling the young girl a fool. A pawn she may be, but she was no fool. Miroku still valued his ties with the Therum, and past experience told him that Kagura had specifically pointed out the girl's heritage to spark his temper.  
  
Kagura narrowed her gaze and leaned closer to him with her hand on her chin. "I am in the proper mood for amusement," she said coyly, "Tell me about her, Miroku."  
  
He kept his eyes on the ground while he spoke and hoped she wouldn't order him to do otherwise. Looking Kagura in the eye could be very unpleasant at times. "Her name is Kagome," he began. "She is of course a Therum, My Lady, but I doubt that you know her full history."  
  
She snorted. "How could anyone as young as her possibly have a history?" Kagura herself was nearly fifty, though her demon blood would not allow her body to betray it.  
  
"Lady Kagome has a very long history, Lady Kagura. Five hundred years."  
  
No one really bothered to tell Kagura anything, except Miroku, who worked as a type of double-agent for both the officials of House Sajimo and Kagura herself. He admitted that he had taken a liking to the venomous creature in the beginning, but now he could hardly bring himself to look at her. She had brought the subject up to her father once just as his respect for her was waning, and he had made Miroku her private advisor. It was a role he was to fulfill every day by seeing Kagura in whatever quarters she was occupying at a set time.   
  
Her father was a thoughtless man to trust a son of the Therum with informing his fiendish daughter of day-to-day events, even if it was more of a side position than anything else. Obviously the lord of the house had not stopped to consider appointing someone specifically trained in the art of deception and betrayal.  
  
When Miroku did not spend his time collecting information for Kagura, he gathered information for the House officials, the generals, the lords, everyone with a title. He fed his findings to a council on a regular basis, and was brought to important events to use his faint clairvoyant heritage to see possible outcomes. But at the present moment, he was doing none of that, he was speaking to Kagura.  
  
"Five hundred years?" Yes, she was very ignorant. No one found her to be of very much worth, only the daughter of the Lord of the House. The daughter, not the son. Miroku wondered suddenly how she would interact with Kagome, who was her total opposite in nearly every aspect of life. If they ever met.  
  
"Yes My Lady," he answered. "Five hundred years. Lord Sesshomaru chose a human, a Therum, for a reason."  
  
"And what reason is that?"  
  
Miroku closed his eyes completely and prepared to tell her the story of the royal concubine.  
  
***  
  
"You realize what you're asking me." His shoulders heaved in a shuddering sigh. Tears shivered at the corners of his eyes.  
  
Kagome reached out to him confidently, "Or course I do. I'm not the type of person who would do something without considering the consequences."  
  
Her hand touched his own, and he flinched a little at the foreign contact. The room was dark, and it was more than just unnerving to feel her agile presence there while he was so helpless. "Lady Kagome," he took another breath, "please reconsider. There are other options, other ways to do this."  
  
"Other ways to do what?" She asked him gently, "To live or to die?"  
  
He let one slip of water fall from his face, and felt a wave of shame course over him. It was not allowed for him to weep, not in the presence of a lady at the very least.  
  
She continued without mercy for him, "We both want this, and now it is within our grasp. Please understand what we can accomplish here, if you will just help me with this task of mine."  
  
He trembled.  
  
"Korba?"  
  
He had avoided this for a long time. Her one avenue of freedom, closed to her so many times was finally open. Who was he to deny her her freedom? Even if this was what it meant. Death was freedom. The thought had crossed his mind once when he had been at his lowest in the war, shortly after his sister had been torn away from him. But he had managed to push that thought away.  
  
Slowly Korba raised his stare to her, and felt a bolt of compassion strike him. Her eyes were sparkling in the darkness, and she was smiling. Kagome was smiling with as much purity as he had ever seen on her face, and she was filled with hope.  
  
He took her small hand in both of his own and felt his doubt and apprehension of allowing her to take her life disappear. It was no longer a matter of life being right and death being wrong, this was a wonderful solution, for everyone. It would mean freedom, for everyone. The war would end, the event that all had gambled on would vanish. She would no longer be a pawn.  
  
"I swear," Korba said deeply, "That I will do whatever is within my power to set you free, Kagome."  
  
It was her turn now to weep, and she cried tears of joy as she leaned over his hand and kissed it rapturously. "Thank you," she said it many times, and then, "I will live with my child, in the afterlife. Thank you."  
  
***  
  
Hey, there wasn't any Sesshomaru in this chapter. I suppose we'll have to fix that for next time, won't we? As to pairings...you never know what will happen. Depends on my mood, so if you think you'll get a straight answer from me, all I can say is, sorry. 


	6. hi

Listen...this is hard business, but I have to delete all my stories. Not because anyone reported me, not because I hate them, I just have to. For a brief amount of time. Okay? I'm making a new screen name, I'm forming a new account. I'm reworking a few things.

Someday I'll tell you all why, but for now just please trust me. Expect things to be shut-down indefinitely for about a week or so, and then I'll put everything back up again. Perform searches for it, if you still are interesting in reading.

Thank you all so much.

-Me.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay. So I didn't have to terminate my account. But something obviously _did _happen, right? AND IT WAS BAD. Hence the initial delay.

I moved out of my house four years ahead of schedule, with five months' notice. I made the decision myself, that was good, but it didn't excuse me from how much of a shock it was. And then when I got over that, I realized that it was hard work. And then when I got over that, I made friends with beautiful people and devoted free time to being a hot-blooded teenager with them. It was fun and I have no regrets. Thus, no, I _did not _die.

Naturally after exams, several of which kicked my ass, I wanted to simmer and sulk. I've been doing that for the past few weeks. Seeing as I now have free time that can't be used to roam around with my friends because they live far away from me, I promise (_promise_) I'll start working on my stories again. But I have a sibling about to leave for Europe for six weeks straight on a painting expedition for college, so if you all don't mind I think I'll bid her farewell first.

And I might have updated once or twice if I didn't know that the security at my school had the power to hack into my system and read whatever went down from personal experience.

My plan is to finish these off one by one. However, if I don't accomplish this before September...well, the cycle starts again. The end.


End file.
